de Saisset exhibit displays art from faculty
By Tasia Endo
The tables have turned. Anyone who has taken a studio art class knows how the necessary task of critiquing each other's works can be filled with uncertainty or discomfort.
The current show at the de Saisset Museum provides students with some recompense, as all of the studio art professors' works are on display at this fall's "Experience Teaches: Santa Clara University Art Faculty Exhibition."
Unlike the students, however, the faculty and practicing artists aren't squirming in their seats.
"You can see the artistic strength of our faculty in this show," said Kelly Detweiler, chair of the art and art history department and a painting and drawing professor. "Santa Clara follows a teacher-scholar model, so these are not just people who teach."
The show features Kathy Aoki, Renee Billingslea, Kelly Detweiler, Susan Felter, Don Fritz, Sam Hernández, Pancho Jiménez, Marco Marquez, David Pace, Trung Pham, S.J., Ryan Reynolds and Gerald Sullivan, S.J. These tenured, tenure-track and lecturing studio art faculty constitute the most inclusive faculty art display show at the de Saisset Museum to date.
The last exhibition was in 1997 and only presented works by four tenured faculty.
Today, these exhibiting 12 artists not only reflect the growth of the art and art history department over the past 10 years but also point to the diversity that the department has to offer.
"The idea of the inclusiveness was what was really exciting for me," said Karen Kienzle, de Saisset assistant director for exhibitions, education and community outreach. "In this group show, there really is something for everyone."
The galleries full of painting, drawing, ceramic and mixed-media sculpture, installation, digital animation, mixed-media, digital and traditional photography, and print-making illustrate the wide-ranging capabilities of the studio art faculty.
With a closer look, the works give deeper insight into these Santa Clara professors. Many of the pieces are in media that differ from those that they teach.
Aoki's painted wood installation, "Battle of Kawaii," contrasts with the computer art and graphic design that she teaches.
Hernández, sculpture professor, displays 2-D painting studies of his childhood relics alongside his 3-D wood pieces.
Marquez, lecturer in computer art and graphic design, might surprise viewers with his autobiographical mixed-media paintings on view.
Photography lecturer Pace collaborated with Juan Velasco of the English and modern language departments to create a DVD of photographs and poems expressing their experience in El Salvador.
Others show pieces that forge new directions in their artistic careers. Billingslea exhibits her photographs next to her mixed-media books for the first time.
Detweiler adds fighting animals to his paintings, while Felter presents her newest photographic project, "Old Marble," with her ongoing "Hunting and Gathering" series.
Jiménez digresses from nonrepresentational sculpture with his figurative pieces in the show.
Some faculty reflect their personalities and interests in their art. The repetition of childhood icons throughout Fritz's ceramic and mixed-media pieces signifies his interest in symbols.
Pham refers to his experience as a Vietnamese American by basing his abstract paintings on straw hats.
Reynolds' paintings of freeways and industrial sites indicate his interest in eliciting contemplation from ordinary, often overlooked places.
Sullivan imbues his paintings with his quirky sense of humor, even including hidden dwarves and Donald Duck in "Above Rubens."
Walking among the art in the de Saisset is a learning experience in itself.
There, you can discover the breadth of the art department, the creative impulses of Santa Clara studio art professors, and the challenge that it must have been for these 12 people to juggle their two lives as artist and teacher to make the art in front of you.
"Experience Teaches" will be on display at the de Saisset Museum through Dec. 8.
Contact Tasia Endo at tendo@scu.edu.